As the airline industry crisis deepens, British Airways is poised to launch another special offer next month, on top of its current free tickets for children initiative. It plans to launch a two flights for the price of one offer on transatlantic and many European routes.

Meanwhile, John Patterson, managing director of BA's Gibraltar-based franchise partner GB Airways, urged travellers to 'look beyond the hype' of the no-frills airlines. GB focuses on north Africa, Portugal, Malta and Spain.

He said his airline was comparable with Go and easyJet. He said: 'There are more bargains from us than there would normally be at this time of year. And you get a quantum leap in service compared with Go and easyJet - free food and drink and more legroom.'

So how does GB Airways, flying from Gatwick, measure up on some return fares (including taxes) against Go from Stansted and easyJet from Luton, flying to Malaga? For matching dates on a Saturday-to-Saturday break in November, GB Airways is at £156, Go charges £152 and EasyJet £114. For several November midweek dates GB undercuts at £99, with the others as before.